Gang ransacks Venezuela synagogue

Jewish leaders say Caracas's condemnation of war on Gaza may have prompted attack.

01 Feb 2009 05:36 GMT

Anti-semitic and anti-Israeli slogans were painted on the walls of Caracas's oldest synagogue [AFP]

"Never in the history of Venezuela's Jewish community have we been the target of such an aggression," Elias Farache, the president of Venezuela's Jewish Association, said.

"The climate is very tense. We feel threatened, intimidated, attacked," he said.

'Respect'

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's foreign minister, condemned the synagogue attack and promised it would be investigated, while reiterating his government's opposition to what he called Israel's "criminal" government.

"We respect the Jewish people, but we ask respect for the people of Palestine and their right to life," Maduro said in a ceremony held to welcome home two Venezuelan diplomats expelled from Israel this week.

The Israeli government ordered Venezuela's ambassador in Tel Aviv and his two staff, along with the country's chief diplomat in the occupied West Bank, to leave after Caracas decided to cut off diplomatic relations on January 14.